If you read the skeptical blogs, then you probably already know that actor-turned-über-evangelist Kirk Cameron and the bananaman himself, creationist Ray Comfort, are going to hand out copies of Darwin’s Origin of Species with an extra 50 pages claiming that Darwin led to Hitler, racism, misogyny, Windows Vista, cats and dogs living together, and Vegemite.

This stuff is the usual pack of creationist misinformation, distorted facts, and out-and-out lies that you can find debunked almost everywhere on the web (like here, and here, and here).

While I don’t lean towards insults and yelling myself, I can understand the sentiment. But sometimes, I think gentle mockery is the best way to go. It’s hard to imagine TMZ being understated, but in fact I like what they did here. They ended that article perfectly.

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In my Western Civics college class, we were discussing how people can use irrational logic to obtain an answer that suits them. One example was that Abraham Lincoln was gay because they found a letter saying he was in bed with another man. Aside from the fact that was very common in the days where there were few available beds in cottages and it was easier to stay warm in that fashion, and that nothing sexual ensued, we can apply the same logic to state that that must mean a great many people of that time were also gay for committing the same act.

Many soldiers used to do that in order to not freeze during the cold nights wherever they might be positioned. Thus, most of the early Americans were people of little virtue, engaging in immoral sexual actions with their fellow males. This is what happens when you combine anecdotal evidence with the logic A + B =B + C, then for A = D.

I think it’s a tad underhanded to make no mention of their intent on the cover.

Cameron says they were able to make this “Special” version since Darwin’s “On the origin of species” is in public domain. Isn’t the “Bible” also in the public domain? Perhaps a version with a 50 introduction on critical thinking would be interesting.

Aren’t their names actually Kirk caMoron and Raytard Comfort? I just can’t fathom the amount of mental dissonance they must live with on a constant basis. It must be like mentally castrating yourself or something…

I don’t even think they should be able to bring up genocides caused by evil men without also mentioning the ones supposedly caused by the “good” god. How can one of those acts be evil when the other is not?

“I understand the Darwinians do not want to believe in creation and they have all kinds of gizmos and data to prove evolution. Now if they would just put them to work looking at the odds life came about on this little rock…and then calculate why life is no where else we’ve looked in the universe.”

Um, maybe because the only places we’ve seriously looked was Mars? And even then, Mars was a long shot? Earth is the only planet in our solar system capable of sustaining life. Some of Jupiter’s moons (e.g. Europa) might be possible life locations, but we haven’t checked them yet. As for planets outside of our solar system, we don’t have the technical capability to detect Earth-like planets (although we keep getting closer). Perhaps in 20 years we’ll be able to find other “earths” out there and tell whether there’s life on them. Until then, we’re (at best) one for two in “life on planets we’ve checked.”

Of course, that ignores the whole fact that the poster is trying to “disprove” evolution by casting doubt on the origins of life. Even if life began with a great big “LET THERE BE LIFE!” and the creation of the most basic single cell organisms, Evolution would still apply from that point on. While linked, Evolution and Abiogenesis are really two separate theories.

This is really sad. These two clowns have influenced countless young people, poisoning their minds against science and critical thinking. Fortunately, they have chosen college campuses as their battleground, this time. Secular colleges are very good at instilling (or restoring) an appreciation of science and critical thinking.

If any of you should receive one of these violated books, I recommend tearing out the fifty pages of lies and sending them to Comfort’s ministry.

And not even that. In terms of “seriously” looking, we’ve done the equivalent of taking one spadeful of sand from the middle of the Sahara desert, dunking it in one kind of nutrient broth, heating it for a time, and then being unable to differentiate between a biological or chemical cause for the subsequent positive result.

That is the total extent of our direct search for life on Mars. All other studies have been only looking at the possibility of potentially life-friendly environments on Mars, and nothing more.

At the end of the video I love the way they make a big deal out of nobody turning down offer of a free book, as if any student would turn down being offered free stuff like books. They could have been handing out the Satanic Bible in the same manner and come up with the same clip.

Let them waste their money. Perhaps a handful of student fence-sitters might be persuaded, but the simple truth is that 99% of those books are going to languish for years on someone’s bottom shelf before being chucked into the trash.

I still have one book given to me by an English evangelical friends almost two decades ago (and I was still a Christian at that time). I never opened it, but when I came across it again a couple of years back I was extremely amused to find that it was a book by Benny Hinn. In case you don’t know who he is, he’s a charlatan so-called “faith healer” who lives a life of luxury off the backs of donations from those he cons out of the cash. If there was ever a book that was designed to turn me completely off Christianity, it would have been that one.

@ #1 There are other indications that Abe Lincoln could have been gay. This would not detract from his greatness in any way at all.

Some may have considered same sex love “immoral” at that time, but in the 21st century science has pretty much determined that same sex love is normal and huge parts of the population accept it as a fact of everyday life. In my home state I can legally get married to my boy friend. In fact just yesterday a judge in Texas decided that the ban on gay marriage there was unconstitutional. Society has evolved on this issue.

I want one! I can rip out the extra fifty pages right in front of whoever is handing it out and boom, free copy of the Origin for my bookshelf. But will people be able to tell where it came from if they see it? Hmm, that could be a problem, wouldn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.

I’m trying to find out at which colleges they’re doing this, but they’re website doesn’t seem to say. I really want to get one, just so I can rip out the introduction. I did find out that Ray Comfort’s name is on the cover, but I can always scratch it out, right?

I know I’m not the first to say this. How about releasing a copy of the bible with a 50 page section explaining all the evils that it’s led to and how many parts of it are wrong? Imagine how these people would react.

Darwin dose not say anywere in his book that there is a “master race” nor has science ever proven there was this was propaganda put out by the nazis.In fact no nation perverted science more then nazi germany.The nazis taught kids that the “arayns”came to earth when an ice moon crashed into the earth even thro ther is no proff of this at all to blame Darwin for the nazis policys is worng and stupid the nazis perverted Darwins theory to fit a raceist agenda as they other sciences .This just showes that anything can be twisted in fact the Bible has offten been to fit someones agenda.

“Even if life began with a great big “LET THERE BE LIFE!” and the creation of the most basic single cell organisms, Evolution would still apply from that point on. While linked, Evolution and Abiogenesis are really two separate theories.”

I realize that this is what we’ve assumed for a long time, but actually I’ve found a way for both evolution and Abiogenesis to be A SINGLE COMPLEXITY THEORY. It suggests that natural selection causes matter to become optimized to capture energy. But if this theory turns out to be viable, surely we don’t expect the likes of Raymond and Cameron to change what they are saying?

When watching his video I find the irony that as he rattles off all these things about no prayer in school, etc meaning them to sound bad….. I’m saying HECK YEAH. This is good. Then he state that 60% of college profs call themselves atheists or agnostics… perhaps that should tell you some thing Kirk when our brightest minds think a certain way.

Perhaps we’re burying the lead here. The fact remains that two creationist loonies are actively handing out copies of Darwin’s Origin of Species to their gullible flock. Sure, it’s their own “value-added” version, but they’re still putting the facts of evolution in the hands of the clueless.

This might work in our favor. It’d be like a group of Atheists handing out free Bibles, right? Perhaps I’m being overly optimistic, but is it too much to hope for that just a few of these 50,000 sheep actually open the book and discover for themselves the validity of the science?

I like reading the comments more than the actual article. It seems like, on this particular topic, there is no middle ground. I happen to belive in a Creator, but then again evolution happened. It’s still happening. Anyone that says otherwise is a complete moron. The two can co-exsist, It’s all a matter on how you see things. While it is hard to hear people mocking religion sometimes, people like good ‘ol Mr. Cameron make it hard to defend it. To be totally honest religion of any kind doesn’t have much proof to back it up. That is where the whole blind faith thing comes into play. You either belive or you don’t, but it does get annoying being associated with people like these because of your beliefs. Not all of us are whack jobs.

I’m getting a good laugh out of this. Recently a lot of ink has been spilled because the movie Creation, a film about Darwin, is having trouble getting a distributor in the US. This is being blamed on Christian groups who are actively campaigning against the movie and the distributors’ reluctance to engage in controversy.
After diligent search I can find no groups campaigning against the movie. What I do find are reviews saying the film is not very good.
Distributors do not shy from controversy. Controversy is good for box office. This is a non-issue stoked by a need for publicity for a mediocre flick.
The distribution of Origin of Species with an introduction by a Christian ought to be another non-issue. What is the fear? I would expect jubilation. Isn’t it a good thing to get as many copies of Darwin’s work into as many hands as possible? No one is forced to read the introduction and if the book is as good as Darwin’s defenders say, its brilliance ought to easily overcome the bias of the introduction.
I have been a student of the Darwin controversy (and it’s more of a controversy than Darwinists will admit, having many dissenters many of whom are not religious) since I read the book more than twenty years ago. I have had many discussions about Darwinism through the years and only twice found someone who has actually read the book.
Don’t let other people tell you what Darwin says. Go to the source. Read the book with a red pencil in your hand to really get what he is saying. It is, after all, the intelligent thing to do and it might change your mind.

OK, I admit I am an over 45 years-old science teacher (my teenagers think that time unit is really decades). Who the bleep is Kirk Cameron? And why would I care what his moronic opinion is? Sounds like he would need a brain transplant to get a job as a speed bump.

I haven’t read The Origin of Species from cover to cover, but I did read his book on the Voyage of the Beagle. Great story from an age where going to the next village qualified you as a foreigner.

I certainly feel like screaming, and my brother and his family are young earth creationists and even he knows that the Hitler-Darwin gambit is idiotic and flawed in the extreme. He also knows Kirk’s crocoduck is a misrepresentation of evolution. I hope Kirk sticks in his crocoduck picture in the back and tells everyone this is what is expected if evolution were to be true. Discrediting it will be like shooting Tiktaalik in a barrel.

Arguing against evolution is good providing you actually have some ammunition and know what you’re talking about. I have yet to see an argument against evolution that wasn’t based on some gross misunderstanding of what evolution is, or based on the knowledge of the early 20th century and ignores our knowledge of today (can you say “genetics”). Consequently, I haven’t seen any good arguments—outside of “no known mechanism” in the pre-genetic era, and “not enough time” pre-discover of radioactivity and fusion–against evolution.

Paraphrasing Dr. Kenneth Miller, Any theory that can withstand 150 years of hostile attack is a pretty good one.

By the way, anyone who tries to use the Darwin-Hitler gambit, tell them to do a search for “Hitler Munich 1922 speech”, and have a little look-see towards the end (about 6 paragraphs from the bottom). He uses his own Christianity and the example of Jesus as reasons to attack the Jews. If they want to use logical fallacies, then we can use the same logical fallacies—it cuts both ways.

Really, how can anyone be so consistently stupid and ignorant and still manage to avoid getting run down in traffic….who said it must be like mentally castrating yourself…?? Good analogy. I say though, Why stop at mentally? The gene pool must be protected. Breeding is not an option.

It is even Biblical. Galations 5:12, the learned Apostle Paul said, “As for those agitators, I wish they’d go the whole way and emasculate themselves”.

And all the people said, “Amen” (translation = so be it). Or for the BG fans, “So say we all”!

I think this is indicative of how grossly out of scale most fundies consider the “world” to be. To them, the Earth is actually quite large, all things considered, while those points of light up in the sky are little more than bright shiny candles flickering away in some dark vault. And the black stuff in between those lights? Pffft! I’m willing to bet their estimates of the sheer size of the universe is off by magnitudes of a thousand, if not a million. What a wee small creation is theirs!

@ I’d rather be fishin':

Sounds like he would need a brain transplant to get a job as a speed bump.

I want a copy of this. Where to get one is a bit difficult to figure out. They mentioned UCB, and that would rank top 50 and be in reach. Stanford too would work. The problem is that these snake oil types tend to be sneaky. The top 50 could be Christian Universities and essentially looking to be preaching to the choir who would not be in the position to rip and flame (figuratively, in this sense), the assertions made in the preface.

I’m really interested in getting a copy of this since I actually am in reach of actual Top 50 Unis in both categories.

Is the text of the book abridged or altered? That concerns me more than any introduction. I can’t believe that they would go to all that expense just to put a decent edition of Darwin in people’s hands.

“I have yet to see an argument against evolution that wasn’t based on some gross misunderstanding of what evolution is”

That’s because there isn’t such an argument.

If there is an observation out there that contradicts evolutionary theory, or even just suggests that evolutionary theory is an incomplete approximation waiting to be superceded by a more comprehensive theory (ala Newton vs Einstein), that observation has not yet been made.

Our schools must be in really bad shape if there are that many people that bad at science and English, that they believe the Bible provides some kind of evidence of an alternative to evolution. They take the parts they want to read literally, but ignore the parts that do no say what they want them to say. These Creationists are inconsistent in their so called literal interpretation. They also have no clue about science.

It’s now heading for 100 universities and 100,000 copies, and it will be the entire book (every jot and tittle)

I [Ray Comfort] will also make it clear that Hitler abused his theory, and is also irrelevant to whether or not it’s true.

If that’s the case, why even bring it up, if it’s irrelevant? The only reason I can think of is that the Jews wouldn’t have suffered as much if Charles Darwin never published his theory. After all, Ray doesn’t think evolution is true, so it wouldn’t have mattered.

Almost the whole introduction is basically Christian proselytising propaganda. What I find most reprehensible about it is that he explicitly tries to fill the reader with a fear of going to Hell.

The Theory of Gravity has been proven as the leading cause of air crashes, the Guillotine, the sinking of the Titanic, numerous suicides (hanging and jumping out of windows) landslides, avalanches and the collapse of the Twin Towers!

@Keith (the first one) Says: “I know I’m not the first to say this. How about releasing a copy of the bible with a 50 page section explaining all the evils that it’s led to and how many parts of it are wrong? Imagine how these people would react.”

Wow…that’s actually a very good idea, and would be entertaining to read! Essentially the 50 page section can include various examples of contradictions, scientific inaccuracies, etc… and you have the bible right there to verify it as you’re reading! You wouldn’t be able to fit everything into 50 pages, but you could include the best examples.

And give it a Kevin Trudeau-ish title like “The Bible THEY don’t want you to know about”.

Let me say this raceism was around long before Darwin thats why we had artositys like slavery and wars of conquest many empires like Rome for example thought themslevs better then every one else this was long before Darwin .and Darwin is not responable for the holacost to say that shows no understanding of science

I ask because I sent you this a few days back, as well as a few other tidbits over the last year but I’m not sure I am sending them to the right place. I probably have an old email but it was the only one I could find…

Also, in good news, I just ordered (finally) my paperback of Death From The Skies. I want the Hard Cover also but this version is easier to read on the tube

@ FriendlyPrimate: Someone has already done one better, they went through the bible line-by-line and pointed out all the mistakes, contradictions, immorality, and other problems. It is called the Skeptic’s Annotated Bible:

oh in responce to Hiedi as a Catholic I do think tere is life eleseware in the universe in fact most Catholics do I like Phill however do not tthink that aliens are visiting us in flying saucers or that the goverment has little green (or is it gray?) locked up at area 51

I was thinking… After being given the book. Ask the giver if it is now yours. And if you can now do with it as you please. Once they say ‘yes’ (because they will), thanks them kindly. Rip out the 50 pages, and hand that back to them. Keeping the book.

We really should do a bible like that. Just to see them play the persecution card.

No one ever took Comfort seriously here in Christchurch, NZ, where he used to spout his religious views along with the “bible lady” in the city’s square! He could never contend with the wizard – yes we had a wizard – a highly intelligent man who ran rings around him. Probably why Comfort went to the States. Sorry chaps!!!

James, sadly our wizard has now retired. Officially he never existed. He was given an exemption from the census and I believe, Inland Revenue. There maybe other wizards lurking about! He was a marvellous tourist asset to out city.

Forgive them Darwin for they know not what they should eat. Vegemite is the food of the gods, the very stuff from which the first living things evolved (or would have if they could have), it’s the food Darwin would have recommended in a series of 30 second TV commercials (if they’d offered him enough money). Windows on the other hand…

Hitler was probably inspired by Darwin’s work. But hey so what? It still doesn’t mean Evolution is wrong. Funny to see Christians justifying their cognitive dissonance with Hitler.

Hitler wasn’t inspired by Darwin. He used evolution in the same way he used religion – as a tool to manipulate people and justify his policies. Since Hitler was a lowly corporal during WWI, it is as likely as anything else that he was “inspired” by the comprehensive humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles.

Like Nigel said, Hitler wasn’t “inspired” by Darwin. A small part of his “Aryan Race” reasoning might have been a corruption of Darwin’s ideas, but the bulk of Hitler’s ideas came from Germany being the world’s doormat after WWI and from millennia old antisemitism.

In fact, if Kirk and Company wanted to try to sway Jews over to their side by playing the Hitler card, they’ll fail. (At least with any Jew who knows a modicum of antisemitism history.) Darwin’s voyage began in 1831, but the Russian Pogroms began in 1821 and similar antisemitic violence took place before that. For example, the Spanish Inquisition’s expulsion of the Jews in 1492. That was *WAY* before Darwin. Heck, at that point, Christopher Columbus hadn’t even begun his voyage.

In short, Hitler’s ideas of a “master race” and selection of the Jews as scapegoats for all of Germany’s problems were old ideas. Any “Darwinian” element in them was Hitler abusing the theory to suit his own purposes just like he abused religion as pointed out by Daniel J. Andrews in post #30.

Just got the 150year anniversary edition of Origin for my birthday and I am currently reading The Greatest Show on Earth.

Whilst you can read Darwin’s work I think that for anybody who wants to understand what evolution by natural selection is, why it is considered a fact and the evidence that supports it look no further that Dawkins new book. It really is a clear and concise book that answers all the questions that are commonly asked from the creationists side and dispels all the myths and common misunderstandings about Darwin’s theory.

p.s. You might have to ask for it at the bookstore, I did as it wasn’t in the new release section but buried in the social sciences???? section.

Reinhard Heydrich used the Darwinian term “natural selection” to justify the Holocaust. Wannsee, January 20, 1942. Heydrich argued that those Jews who survived what until then had been a harsh forced-labor program where death was frequent but not deliberate would represent a “natural selection” and therefore have to be exterminated to prevent them from breeding a race of Jews who were physically tough as well as mentally astute. There would have been no comprehensive mass murder without Darwin’s concept of “natural selection.” Shirer, “Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,” Payne, “The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler,” my own book “The Atheist Syndrome” and the web all offer copies of the Wannsee text in English. Darwin himself awaited with approval the extermination of Africans and Australians and saw them as missing links between man and gorilla — “Descent of Man.” He was a hard-core racist, though not an anti-Semite. The anti-Semitism came though a Nazi belief that the Jewish affinity for Marxism was somehow genetic as well as through eeconomic envy and personal reasons. These are the facts — giggle all you want. It wasn’t funny at the time and still isn’t.